Uncategorized Archives - Iyengar Yoga with Cheree Low

15 April, 201815 April, 2018

Forward Bends – 14 April 18

Here is what we practised on Saturday: a focus on forward bends – taking the top of the sacrum in and using the legs to create length in the trunk.

Swastikasana

Adho Mukha Virasana – hands to the wall

Adho Mukha Svanasana – thumb and index finger to wall, press the hands down and forward to take shoulder-blades in and up

Adho Mukha Virasana – hands to the wall

Adho Mukha Svanasana – hands at wall, lead with the legs, turn back thigh from inside out, broaden hamstrings and take femur back

Tadasana – bend knees, resist calves forward as the thighs draw up, keep weight on the front of the heel

Urdhva Baddhanguliasana in Tadasana Uttanasana – sole of

Uttanasana (concave phase)- sole of foot on rolled sticky mat

Ardha Uttanasana – teachers assist students, one belt around fullest part of calves pulling forward, second belt around fullest part of thigh pulling backward

Adho Mukha Vrksasana preparation – “L” shape, feet up wall at hip height. Use legs as in Uttanasana to lengthen trunk

Adho Mukha Vrksasana – forearms back, shoulders forward; thighs back, buttocks forward

Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana – restrain standing leg movements by keeping weight on inner front heel. 3 phases:

3 phases:
1. bend lifted leg to trunk
2. hold foot in both hands and straighten leg only as far as possible keeping leg in contact with trunk
3. straighten the lifted leg by taking lower leg up (thigh may come away from trunk)

Utthita Trikonasana – back heel at wall, place brick under front leg calf, pull up on thigh to straighten leg, repeat without brick

Utthita Parsvakonasana – back heel at wall, bring both hands to floor inside front foot, keep trunk near leg and hand on floor, place opposite hand on hip and enter pose from the bottom up.

Prasarita Padottanasna (concave phase) – gradually narrow the feet towards Uttanasna maintaining the top of the sacrum in as in Prasarita Padottanasana

Uttanasana (concave)- brick on sacrum secured with long belt around heels

Uttanasana – teachers assist with belt just below buttock bones, lifting hamstrings, buttock bones as the trunk descends further

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Sirsasana – eka pada

Paripurna Navasana – from bent legs, lift top of sacrum in and maintain as legs straighten

Ubhaya Padangusthasana

Marichyasana I – movement first, then holding foot in both hands, taking both sides of sacrum and trunk forward

Akarna Dhanurasana I – movement first, then holding straight-leg foot with looped belt, allow ankle to supinate to soften groin (as we do in Baddha Konasana)

Eka Hasta Bhujasana – roll bent leg in, hollow abdomen

Dwi Hasta Bhujasana

chair Kurmasana

repeat Dwi Hasta Bhujasana

Bharadvajasana I

Purvottanasana – bent legs

Salamba Sarvangasana – eka pada

Savasana

13 September, 2014

Integrating Yoga Philosophy into Practice: The Five Afflictions and Practising with them in Mind

According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the goal of yoga practice is attaining a state of yoga, a state where the consciousness becomes still. The benefit of attaining this state is that then we experience our own truth.

I.2 yogah citta vrtti nirodhah
Yoga is the cessation of movements in the consciousness.

I.3. tada drastuh svarupe avasthanam
Then, the seer dwells in his own true splendour.

There are five afflictions (kleshas) which impede our progress toward achieving a state of yoga by disturbing the consciousness. These five afflictions are ignorance (avidya), egoism (asmita), desire (raga), aversion (dvesa), and fear (abhinivesa). Through introspection we can trace all pain and suffering back to at least one of these five afflictions.

Ignorance (avidya) is the root of all of the other afflictions. It is the mistaking of the transient for the permanent, the impure for the pure, pain for pleasure, and that which is not the self for the self. It can manifest in our practice of poses (asana) and breathing techniques (pranayama) when we mistake good alignment and skillful action as the end goal rather than a means toward a goal—the stilling of the mind.

Egoism (asmita) can grow out of this mistaken goal. Our ego, sense of self or the “I”-sense, can get wrapped up over-intellectualising the practice of asana. Instead of being present and feeling the actions and reactions in the poses, the ego judges. Our ego can either puff us up, causing pride, or tear us down, creating a false sense of humility. This happens when we intellectually label and limit our practice, preventing our progress and stifling our awareness. For example, have you ever been in class and your teacher gives an instruction such as “Draw the thighs up” in Extended Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana), and because you already know this is a correct action, you assume you are already doing it? Ignoring the teacher, you lose an opportunity for growth and increased awareness. Conversely, have you ever believed you were unable to perform a certain action (for example “My shoulder blades will never do that!”) and don’t attempt a pose or an action because “There is no reason to try”? This is another missed opportunity for the expansion of awareness that stems from the ego.

Desire or attachment to pleasure (raga) can manifest in asana practice when we only practice the postures that we enjoy because we mistake the pleasure we feel in our favorite poses for equanimity. Likewise, avoiding the poses we find challenging, difficult, or distasteful is an example of aversion (dvesa). Practising in this way will continue (and perhaps increase) the fluctuations of the consciousness. The mind is flitting around, following the whims of desire and aversion, instead of practising in a measured and wise way—one that promotes equanimity, serenity, and stillness.

Fear (abhinivesa) causes one to doubt the process and benefits of the practice of yoga. Sometimes, when we experience an injury, instead of having trust in our ability to work in the poses in a safe and heath-promoting way, we take time off or discontinue our practice out of fear of further injury. This fear keeps the mind from settling and us from experiencing our own truth.

These are just some examples of how the five afflictions can manifest in our yoga practice. Here are some questions we can ask ourselves to consider how these afflictions may influence our life and practice:

Avidya: How do I mistake the transient for the permanent? impure for pure? pain for pleasure? that which is not the self for the self?
Asmita: How do I identify myself as separate/distinct from others? What labels to I cling to? How do I perceive myself and how do I think others perceive me? How does that make me feel?
Raga: What expectations do I cling to? How do I feel when things don’t happen as I’d like them to? What do I find pleasureful? What emotional attachment arises from this?
Dvesa: What do I avoid even though I know it’s good for me? When has unhappiness led to hatred?
Abhinivesa: What am I afraid of? How does this change my behaviors and choices?

22 May, 2014

Reflecting on the Convention

Over the first weekend in May, Abhihjata Iyengar taught at the Iyengar Yoga UK Convention in Harrogate.

Here’s what I thought she emphasized:

Do not let your memories define your present state. She said that it is easier to teach beginners in some ways because they do not have memories and habits that hold them back from what they are able to do. More intermediate students have to remember to approach each day as a beginner.

Use other mental states such as imagination and memory as tools to lead you to a state of yoga (not bhoga or pleasure-seeking.) Abhi presented a lot of imagery in her instruction. She said we should take the trunk to the side in Utthita Trikonasana as if we had hundreds of arms like an Indian goddess sprouting from each rib, along the side of the waist, and pelvis that were all trying to reach the floor. In pranayama, she had us breathe in and open the chest as if a flower was blossoming on the sternum.

Be honest about whether you are actually doing what you think you’re doing/Go back to the basics. We spent all of Friday evening really working on openning the back of the knee and broadening the back of the thigh. She was relentless in her instructions, insistence, and varied methods for trying to get the group to achieve something that most people assume they do: straightening the legs.

Please feel free to add your impressions and recollections in the comments!

8 April, 2014

Workshop with Sallie Sullivan

This weekend, I attended a yoga day with Sallie Sullivan and I really enjoyed her teaching. She taught in a way that inspired more reflection rather than just giving instruction. She encouraged us to explore the connections between poses and the connection between the actions of a pose and the breath.

She had us do the following sequence 3 times:

Utthita Parsvakonasana (hand in front) directly to Utthita Trikonasana (hand behind)
Virabhadrasana II directly to Utthita Trikonasana
Virabhadrasana I directly to Utthita Trikonasana

The first time, she didn’t offer much guidance other than to observe the connections and how each preceding pose changed our experience of Utthita Trikonasana. The second time, she gave some clues about what we might have noticed (perhaps the extension of the trunk, the movement of the tailbone, or the awareness of the back leg), and the third time she had us see how each of the preceding poses affected the breath in Utthita Trikonasana. Each time through, I felt as if my mind was able to move more inward and be more reflective.

20 March, 2013

New Yoga Forum

I was talking with a fellow yogi the other day about how I’m really excited to get started teaching classes here in Bournemouth. (I’m still waiting on a resident visa and a subsequent national insurance number.) My website and blog came up in our conversation, and she said how nice it would be to have an online forum for yoga discussion.

Ask and you shall receive! I set up a forum which you can link to from the menu on my website or you can visit the forum directly at chereeyoga.boards.net. It is completely empty at the moment so I’m looking to you, fellow yogis, to start posting questions and topics of discussion. The more, the merrier, so please share this with anybody that you think would be interested. Also, please let me know what other boards you think would be helpful to have. Thank you!